Ogboni/Oshugbo onile altar figure. Yoruba, Nigeria, 19th century

Ogboni/Oshugbo onile altar figure. Yoruba, Nigeria, 19th century.
Wood.
Provenance:
- Helmut Zake, Heidelberg, Germany.
Measurements: 25 cm.

Anthropomorphic figure of an onile (householder) of the Ogboni-Osugbo society, who wields considerable religious and political power among the Yoruba. They symbolize the original progenitors, the male and female members of the Osugbo and, by extension, the entire community.

The Ogboni also known as Osugbo in the Ijèbú, is an ancient spiritual and political fraternity made up of Yoruba members from Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and Togo, as well as among the Edo people.

The Yorubas are one of the African ethnic groups whose cultural heritage and identity are most recognized. With respect to the Yoruba social structure, we must comment that it is a highly hierarchical society, in a clearly pyramidal form, where the greatest importance falls on the figure of the king and behind him a High Council that determines the social life of the rest of the components of the community. This structure is uncommon in African city-states and the most interesting thing is that the figure of the king himself has power over life and death. His own life is essential to the welfare of the people. If he is satisfied, so are his subjects. He is the life force of the state.